I think Piquet, Barrichello, Heidfeld, Fisichella, Nakajima, and Kovaleinen have got to go. - Nakajima has been accident prone and largely slow throughout the year. - Piquet has shown a few decent performances of late but is real slow relative to his teammate. I'm sure Alonso would like having a slow number 2 because it allows the team to focus on him. But a slow #2 will not help him in races. This is the only reason that McLaren lost out on the WCC - Kovaleinen rarely qualified in the top two rows and hardly ever raced his way forwards. He wasn't a good backup to Hamilton this year. - Barrichello, Heidfeld, fisi are all over the hill. We need fresh blood to replace them. If Kimi has another season like this year, he better retire as well. Rosberg for all his vaunted technical knowledge wasnt any help in developing the Williams.
Hmm, I'd agree with Piquet, Barrichello, Fisi and maybe Kovalainen. I think Heidfeld is doing well enough, and Nakajima hasn't been far off of Rosberg, although he certainly hasn't done anything worth noting. That's because the biggest part of developing a car is down to the boys back at the factory, who do all the designing and implementation. Even if your someone like Alonso, the feedback isn't nearly as important as what those guys do back at the factory.
True enough - Alonso doesn't design the wing or engine for instance. However, he provides the team with clear direction into what works and what doesn't. Alonso is the best car developer since Schumacher. No question about it. I used to scoff about his "I brought 0.6 seconds to McLaren" comment. But no more - the way the Renault team has improved since he joined them again is remarkable and speaks volumes about Alonso's abilities. Renault has virtually the same technical team that won them the WDC with Alonso but they performed miserably in 2007 with Fisi and Kovy at the helm and look at the turnaround in 2008 with Alonso back. Teams can get into a design slump when they go into some blind alley (design wise) but with a good development driver, they can arrest the mis-direction and go into the right path. You will get a few bad years but you will get many more great ones. There is another side to it as well, say the team comes up with a new feature that makes the car tricky to handle but could be potentially quicker. A lesser driver may not realize the potential and stave off the development. A good guy like Michael will identify the potential and adapt his driving to get the most out of it. Take Ferrari's slump in 2003 - Michael and the team assessed the issue was due to the tires and worked with Bridgestone to win the championship. 2004 was a remarkable year for Ferrari and Michael pulled them out of the slump. 2005 was again bad but the Ferrari became the best of the field by middle of 2006.
I think Heidfeld is doing average at best. He is like a 2006 spec Massa (with fewer mistakes) - quick sometimes but anonymous for the rest of the year. BMW is on an upward trajectory - they have scored their first win. Now they are looking to consistently win and fight for the championship. You need a driver who will fight for each point and win. Heidfeld doesn't seem to be that guy to me.
I'm following a lot of the Swiss/German press to see how "my" team is doing and can tell you that Heidfeld was basically a goner in August, but was kept around merely for the lack of a true alternative. I'm sure Theissen is out looking for a replacement candidate for 2010. I like Nick, but he has been hanging on for long enough.
I think Rubens should retire. The only other driver I think is wasting a seat is Piquet. The following drivers I could take or leave: Heidfeld Button Webber Kovalainen Glock Nakajima
Yeah. I like the idea though. My guess is that Bruno Senna replaces Barrichello. I also thought Kovalainen would do much better. I don't think he wants to be a #2 driver. I'd love to see him at BMW where he could earn #1 driver.
HOORAY she cried!! Well well past his use-by-date, and good-riddence i say. NEVER a quality front-runner, nothing more than a mid field runner. I WILL NEVER FORGIVE HIM FOR TAKING M/S OUT IN SPA BELGIUM!!COST US THE CHAMPIONSHIP! Ciao M
I agree with the bottom 2, but really like the top 3. I'm sixes on Kovalainen at the moment. I'd also like to see Sutil in a better car to really see what he's capable of. As far as DC? I have to applaud a driver that can be in the game for so long. Tough break for his last race, though. I would like to have seen him cross the finish line at least.
Well remember in 2007 how he outperformed Kubica? Now that the car suits Kubica more, Heidfeld is having problems. This sounds like the same problem Kimi had, although not quite as bad. His performance relative to Kubica, is dependent on the car and how it suits his style, and that goes for all drivers, example Kimi, example Kubica 2007, and example Bourdais. Also remember he scored a few 2nd place finishes this year, including a great drive at Silverstone. If he continues to have problems next season, then I agree, sack him.
